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Sarasota News Leader October 5, 2012 neighborhood, he pointed out — and point- ed to the vegetative buffer along the southern perimeter of the property. The vegetation was planted about two years ago, he said. "As we move forward," Tatge said, "that buf- fer's getting established ... [becoming] a better buffer all the time." THE PAST AND THE FUTURE On Oct. 17, 2007, Sarasota County purchased the 3.2-acre vacant Siesta-Wood site next to Access 7, according to that June 16, 2009 memo. On Jan. 22, 2009, the county acquired the 0.5-acre Siesta-Curione Site. The latter property is home to that original beach cot- tage, the 2009 memo adds. Not only has county staff been careful to "ease" the neighbors into changes at Access 7, it also has had to be careful of the endan- Page 44 gered snowy plovers that nest generally be- tween Beach Accesses 5 and 10 from Feb. 1 through Aug. 31 each year. Patterson likened the situation to a "push and pull" between watching out for the plovers and adding the extra parking spaces. In fact, Tatge said, the possibility remains that county staff could work with the Saraso- ta Audubon chapter to transform the beach cottage into an educational center about not just the snowy plovers but also about the oth- er wildlife at the beach, including the endan- gered sea turtles that nest on Siesta Key. "We can maybe work a partnership with some- body" — an organization that would be inter- ested in assisting the county with funding for planning purposes, at least, he said. "We don't An original beach cottage at Access 7 might at some point become an educational facility to teach visi- tors about the shore and the creatures that call it home.